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Long run Gate control HELP!?!

MrMiz

Hello all I'm your friendly neighbor hood Newbie and shocker I need the most basic of help. I'm attempting to setup a entry gate control button for my grandfather on his property so that he doesn't have to drive down to his gate to get within wireless control to open his gate to let people in. The house is approximately 800 ft away from the gate. As part of the deal I'm already working on getting normal 110v/120v supply to the gate so I can install a new Liftmaster LA500 gate system for him. I contacted Lift Master and 2 install companies and they had no idea how to set this up. They had devices that were local to the gate that you could push a button/enter a code to open the gate, but they didn't have any idea's for a button 800ft away. I'm doing all this for my grandpa out of my own pocket and I have to save as much money as possible so I'm trying to do it all myself.

So here is my "thoughts" - at the house I setup some kind of switch/relay at the button so that when the button is hit it sends a 5v (or whatever the LA500 input is) signal down a low voltage line that I will install with the 110/120 line to the gate. At the gate I will attach the 5v line to the normal input for accessories (the code pad etc). 

So here are the questions. What should I be looking for for parts for the button/switch/relay? Will 5v or "low voltage" travel 800ft? Since power is going to be run to the gate is there a simpler way to put the electronics down at the gate rather than at the house?

 

Any experience you all could provide would be greatly appreciated. I'll even appreciate comments on where would be a better place to start my research. In my Rural area of the country there are few or no electronic experts and I have about a 2 hour drive to get to a bigger city where more knowledgeable people reside. I have a decent amount of electrical experience and I'm a novice with electronics. I plan on doing extensive research once I have a better understanding of what I need to do this.

 

Thank you in advance.

  • 0

    If you want a remote switch, you may also want a camera so it can be visually seen who is at the gate before opening it. Otherwise maybe it is safer to drive to the gate.

    I think you need to hire an expert - if the gate installation company cannot help (and this is surprising, since they must get requests like this), then try a CCTV company or a qualified electrician. Signals will travel 800 feet to control a relay (if you want this wired). But, I cannot really suggest more, and really it needs someone qualified to inspect it all and the enclosure, to give good advice. And an electrician will know the regulations concerning how to trunk mains cabling outdoors (I have no idea).

    In principle a low voltage relay would work, wired across the switch, and wouldn't cost a lot to test out with a reel of 800feet of cable,

  • 0

    Hi MrMiz, Another way to address Shabaz's concern about who is calling would be to install an intercom with one unit plugging into the low voltage line at the house and the other unit at the Gate. This way the person at the gate could push a button on the intercom like a door bell and your Grandpa could ask who is there. The intercoms would communicate through the same wires that trigger the gate. I will do a little more research to see if I can come up with a little more detail for you.

    John

  • 0

    Hi MrMiz, Here is a link to something similar to what I had in mind.

     

    http://www.amazon.com/Intercom-DIY-ICW133-STAND-ALONE-Communicator-Intercoms/dp/B00F1YRVDO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413956342&sr=8-1&keywords=wired+intercom+system

     

    800 feet is a long way but you can compensate for the distance by using heavier wire for the low voltage line. Be sure to bury the low voltage wire separated from the mains line or you will pick up a hum from the proximity to the AC voltage. If you want to keep the system simple you can run a 3rd wire in the low voltage line that can be used to trigger the gate mechanism. Check with the gate company for specifications on the low voltage trigger but I would be surprised if you needed anything more complicated than a door bell button to trigger it provided the 800 foot wire is of sufficient gauge.

     

    Most modern intercoms are the wireless variety. I would not recommend these as there could easily be a problem with electrical shock at the gate location if the unit were to get wet from rain or dew.

     

    John

  • 0 in reply to jw0752

    Thanks Shabez and John.

    Who is at the gate is actually not a problem. If you show up to my grandpa's gate and he doesn't know your coming or you don't call him on the cell phone he won't let you in. EVER. He opens the gate all day if he is expecting a delivery (but wouldn't have to if he had this setup I'm working on).... .and never under any circumstance should you attempt to get on my grandpa's property if he doesn't know your coming... that is a very good way to get shot at.

     

    The reason I'm turning to this forum for help is because I have exhausted the experts I have access to. There is one option I have been unwilling to do and that is paying an "expert" to come out and take a look at it for $82. This expert did say he did not know if there was anything he could do for me. So I'm not going to drop $82 to find out he can't or won't do it. Again this is out of my pocket and I'm doing it to may my grandpa's life easier. I've done a decent amount electrical work inside and outside. I've successfully passed a city inspection every time. So I'm very confident I can complete this up to code as well. I am however only a novice with electronics. I'm confident if anybody out there could just point me in the right starting direction I can figure it out... point me just by telling me ... oh you just need a button like xyz, and a relay like xyz then I can look up those parts and figure out how they work. I just really don't know anything about buttons/relays etc to know what to look for (I might rig up a generic light switch for testing).

     

    Again thank you to John and Shabez for their time so far. Maybe I'm in the wrong forum. I just though I could find the parts needed in Element 14's online store if somebody knew what they where.

  • 0 in reply to jw0752

    John,

    I really like the Doorbell idea. I've been looking up wired doorbell buttons and I'm pretty sure I can make one work. The one I'm looking at is a max of 16v so I'm going to grab one of those and start looking at transformers to transform 120v down to 5v or 12v to push across 1000ft of scrap low voltage line and see what the end reads with my volt meter. When I have time I'll pull down the specs on the control unit for the LA 500 gate system and post them up here along with anything I find.

  • 0

    Ok so the doorbell might not be a good option. It looks like from the gate manual that it has a N.C. 24v and a N.O. 24v accessories section. See pg 33 on the following manual to find out if I'm understanding it right:

    http://www.liftmaster.com/CatalogResourcesV3/en-us/shared/files/tucmanuals/0136213.pdf

     

    Normal doorbells I've found have been 16v max. So I'm think I'm going with a :

    https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9341

    I think that should work and it's pretty cheap.

  • 0 in reply to MrMiz

    Hi MrMiz,  I have looked over the manual you attached. This unit works just like a regular garage door opener. If you want to run it off a single pushbutton it will work just like the inside button works on a standard garage door. You are right that doorbells operate off 16 volts and the only reason a door bell button may not work is if it is a lighted button and the 24 volt of the gate system might make the bulb too bright. If you get a doorbell button that is not lit it will work perfectly well on the 24 volt system. You will not have to provide the 24 volts that is mentioned. This voltage will come from the control of the gate. All you will have to do is run 2 wires fron the SBC (Single Button Control) terninal back to the house and hook a button to it. The Spark Fun switch will work fine if you want to use it. Just be sure to use the common and NO of the 3 connections on this switch. Let me know if this doesn't clear things up a little.

    John

  • 0 in reply to jw0752

    thanks John. I'm actually amazed a how simple this is. I'm not sure why I'm having so much trouble with an installer... It must because they don't want to work in rural areas, but you helped me get to the answer and I can't thank you enough!

  • 0 in reply to MrMiz

    Alot of times, manual labor or good workers are hard to find.

    I no it is here in Arkansas.

    Good thing you are doing for grand. keep it up.

  • 0 in reply to supper_slash

    I do know that was part of it Lupe, one guy flat out told me they only rented little trenchers and he didn't want to charge me for renting a big trencher for 800ft. Which I appreciate the honest but that means that I'm going to have to rent it myself now... Sometimes your the only one willing to do the work.